Sunday, April 24, 2011

ANZAC Day, 2011

ANZAC - Australia New Zealand Army Corps, formed World War I.

ANZAC Day - In remembrance of all those who fell and all those who served...

click on image for larger view

By the late 19th century, pakeha New Zealanders saw themselves as establishing a "Better Britain" in the South Pacific, people of British stock who saw themselves as building something better than back "Home" but who were but a generation or two at most away from "Home". It's no surprise then that in the patriotic war imagery above the English Bulldog, the symbol of the Britain, has become the War Dog of New Zealand standing astride the New Zealand ensign overlapping the Union Jack of Britain. Maori taonga have been appropriated in the form of the full face moko, tiki, and huia feathers of the Maori chief.

To my grandfather and his brothers who served in the "war to end all wars" - or so they were told, and to their sons and son-in-laws - to my father and uncles, who served in the next one: we have not forgotten. May we never have to send our sons and daughters to another one.

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The New Zealand Journal - A journal covering anything and everything about New Zealand - Aotearoa by a Kiwi in the diaspora. Topics covered may include: history, culture, politics, science, sports, business & economics, or whatever comes to hand.
My Life in Postcards blog - my life expressed in postcards, perhaps, and living the postcard life.